VOICE ACTIVATED

A council housing officer from London was transferred to another district and spent his first week in his new job getting acquainted with the housing estates that were now under his jurisdiction. His usual approach to visiting a block of apartments was to go to the top floor and work his way down, and when he made his last visit of the day he followed his usual pattern. Entering the lift he pressed the button to take him to the top floor, but nothing happened. Deciding that the lift must be broken, he was about to leave when a young girl entered and shouted "Fourth floor!" The lift went up to the fourth floor. The housing officer was amazed that the estate should have a voice-activated lift, but when he shouted "Sixth floor!" the lift went up to the sixth floor. Back at the office, he asked his colleagues when the council had installed hi-tech, voice-activated lifts on estates. His colleagues all looked at him as if he was crazy but one of them knew what he was talking about and laughingly explained. The lift controls were broken and a man was paid by residents of the apartment block to stay on top of the lift. When people shouted what floor they wanted, he connected the . two appropriate wires and the lift went to that floor

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